A Night in Novigrad
by Manar107
Summary: A nightmare of the Battle of Kaer Morhen disturbed the sleep of Geralt and Ciri, as they both seek solace from the ones they care for.


_The Wild Hunt were pouring out through portals. The snow raged like blizzards of Kovir. Ciri and Vesemir were surrounded. Vesemir casted Aard, its force pushing her 20 meters away. She hit something that blurred her image. She saw Vesemir holding off 10 Riders of the Hunt. His sword was in a blur as it swung with skill and speeds that she doubted Geralt could match. But there were too many. One of the Riders slashed him across the back, interrupting his rhythm allowing for another one to deal a deadly blow to his torso._

" _No!" She screamed._

 _One of the Riders held Vesemir by his neck and held him against the castle walls. He was still alive, but she could see the string of life waning off him. She held her sword, completely surrounded._

 _Vesemir yelled for her to run._

" _She'll not abandon you," Eredin's voice sent chills down her spine, "You humans are so impractical." Eredin held out his hand, a gesture for her to go with them._

 _Ciri dropped her sword. Vesemir yelled for her not to._

" _You were always an unruly child, I adored that about you. Now fly!"_

 _It all happened too quickly. Vesemir, with unnatural speed slew the Rider that held him with a hidden dagger. When the rider dropped him, he picked up his sword that was thrown to the ground. Five Riders attacked. The dance did not last long. Vesemir's strength and speed were waning from the previous deadly blows. He was not fast enough to evade Eredin's sword that pierced through his back and torso. Ciri saw the life leave his eyes. She couldn't bring herself to scream._

 _Geralt, frozen in place, could only stand and watch the tragedy take place._

* * *

Ciri gasped as she sat upright in the small bed. She took in her surroundings. She was safe in one of the rooms of Dandelion's in. She must have disturbed Triss as she sat up in the bed on the other side of the room, blinking away the sleep.

"Ciri, is everything okay?"

"I just…couldn't sleep. I need some air." She stood and wrapped the cloak around her and left before Triss could say anything.

* * *

Geralt's eyes shot open. He starred at the ceiling, not knowing whether he was trying to remember the nightmare or forget it. He turned his head towards Yennefer, sleeping soundly with her face close to his. She was beautiful as she slept, sound and vulnerable. He slowly got up, trying his best not to disturb her peaceful rest and walked towards the window of their small room. He opened it and took in a deep breath of the chilling air. The cold must have awoken Yennefer, for he heard her get up and walk towards him. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face to his back.

"Geralt, it's cold."

He sighed, closed the window and turned to face her. Without her heels, he was almost towering over her. When he thought about it, the idea slightly amused him.

She looked into his eyes, reading his thoughts. "You dreamt of Kaer Morhen."

He nodded.

"Geralt, you shouldn't dwell on what we should have done differently," she said, as she traced the exact pattern of the scar on his chest through his shirt. "If anything, I couldn't hold the barrier against the frost long enough."

Geralt lifted her chin and met her stormy violet eyes. "It was not your fault."

"I know, and neither is it yours. Let's go back to bed, we have a long day ahead on the morrow."

Geralt laid on his back as Yennefer rested her head on his chest, listening to his slow heartbeat.

"And Geralt?"

"Yes, Yen?"

"My height is fairly average, you are just very tall."

He chuckled. "Yen, stop reading my mind."

She kissed his cheek, "Oh hush, you know you love it."

* * *

Ciri sat outside in the back of the inn. She could hear the kitchen cooks and servers argue as they worked to serve the customers late at night, mostly drunken guards. She turned as she heard the door behind her open as Triss walked out. She sat next to Ciri on the cold wooden bench and shared the blanked with her.

"Thank you. I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

Triss only smiled. "I'm just wondering why you chose to sit outside in this cold." She shivered as she wrapped her side of the blanket, tighter.

Ciri just shrugged. "Helps me think."

"About?"

Ciri was silent for a moment. "I was completely helpless. I couldn't do anything to help Vesemir. I was almost going to surrender to Eredin."

"But you didn't." Triss did not know what to say at this moment. So they sat in silence for a while.

"Triss?"

"Hmh?"

"How did you know Vesemir?"

"He knew my father, believe it or not."

"Really, how?"

"It was when I was little, before I went to Aretuza. Vesemir was doing a contract for our neighbors in Maribor. There was something wrong, I can't remember exactly, but they refused to pay him for the job. My father tried to reason with them, then after that he invited him for a drink. Then they became friends, and every time Vesemir passed through Maribor, my father invited him over."

"And what happened to your father?"

"He fell ill to the Catriona plague."

Silence fell over them once more. Ciri stared at the stars, connecting the constellations Yennefer had showed her.

"I didn't lie, you know?" Ciri said, breaking the silence.

"About what?"

"In Rivia, when you asked me if you would ever see me again, I didn't lie when I said yes."

Triss smiled, "You didn't even know you were coming back!"

It was nice to hear Ciri laugh, despite all that had happened to her. "At least it wasn't a lie."

They both stood, making their way back inside.

"We should rest while we can. We're sailing to Skellige tomorrow."

As soon as they reached their room, Ciri curled to her bed and instantly was sound asleep.

* * *

Author's Notes

This is a scene that I made up and just had to write it down. The part on how Triss knew Vesemir before is all just made up. I don't quite remember if there was anything in the books that mentioned how they met, but I'm pretty sure there wasn't.

Hope you enjoy! Any constructive criticism is much appreciated. Stay tuned for more!


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